Socio-Economic, Strategic base of the Crusades
Hello; In my first article on a "thinking platform" like STRASAM, which aims to produce solutions to Turkey's problems by analyzing Turkey's historical and cultural background with current data, I will focus on the economic-political reasons for the crusades. In our later articles, we plan to analyze the important Crusades, which lasted nine hundred years and still continues with different structures in my opinion. Our main goal here is; As a result, it will open the door to the answer to the question of why Anatolia was impassable, why only Turks fought with the Crusaders, who were the economic and political colonial expeditions of their time. “What were Arab and Persian Muslim Societies doing at that time?” If we can understand the historical foundations of the question, we think that we can contribute to the answer to the question of what can be done against today's political economy struggles.
The Crusades as a Project for Removing the Turks from Anatolia
The Crusades, as defined by Işın Demirkent, is the project of "expelling the Turks from Anatolia with the pretext of saving Jerusalem". After the Manzikert Victory in 1071, Iznik was conquered by Suleiman Shah, the son of Kutalmış, within 4 years and made the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk state. After Suleiman Shah took Antakya, almost all of Anatolia was occupied, and the Eastern Roman Emperor asked the Pope for mercenary assistance in 1074. In fact, Eastern Roman Orthodox thought saw Christianity not as a religion of intervention, but rather as a defense and preferred the path of diplomacy. War was generally not tolerated, and those who died in war were not considered "martry". As a result of long negotiations, it was accepted that Christians could fight to protect their homeland and that those who died on this road would become martyrs.
Emperor VII. This request of Mikhail Dukas (1071-1078) was given to Pope VII. Gregorius (1073-1085) welcomed it, but could not send help. At that time Pope VII. Gregory and the Holy Roman Emperor IV. between Heinrich (1056-1105); Since there were no other illiterates, there was a great deal of conflict over appointing the bishops to serve at the court.
As a result of this conflict, the Pope excommunicated the Emperor, and the Emperor appointed the Archbishop of Ravenna, Guilbert, as the opposite Pope. The Pope sent the Patriarch of Venice Dominicus to Istanbul as an ambassador. Patriarch Dominicus reported to the Pope, seeing that the current weapon power of the Eastern Rome was very weak after Manzikert, Anatolia was almost completely occupied by the Turks, the pilgrimage and silk road were under the control of the Turks, and the weakness of power in Anatolia and the Great Seljuk States.
The Pope saw the opportunity in front of him to dominate all of Anatolia and at this opportunity his own position could be much stronger next to the Emperor and the kings, but he could not act. In 1053 the eastern and western churches were separated into Catholic and Orthodox (schisma). Despite this, the Orthodox Emperor Alexios Komnenos (1081-1118) renewed his demand for mercenaries, stating that he could even accept Catholicism from the Catholic Pope if necessary.
Pope VII. After the death of Gregorius II, whose real name was Odo of Chatillon. Urbanus (d. 1099) was elected Pope. Urban took immediate action when the Emperor again asked for help in 1094. Socio-economic problems in Europe, "landless peasants condemned to severe poverty", unemployed, poor robber masses, whose numbers were increasing in Europe at that time, were threatening security. The fact that only the first son benefited from the inheritance also caused an unemployed and powerless elite.
It was more than tempting to direct all these conflicts towards an external enemy and be able to control it. Considering the Pope-Emperor struggles, the military weakness of Eastern Rome, and the lack of power to oppose as a result of the power problems in the Seljuks, he did not miss the opportunity that the previous Pope could not take advantage of. Pope II. Urbanus was "a very skilful diplomat". Believing that this call will give him an advantage and strengthen his hand against Emperor Heinrich, Pope II. Urbanus convened the Council of Clermont on November 27, 1095. He had diligently invited the lords and clergy to attend the meeting.
of Fulcherius Carnotensis. He is a priest who personally attended the Council of Clermont, and his "Historia" written by Pope II. It is the most important and primary source that conveys Urbanus' speech to us. Fulcherius participated in the Crusade with Etienne de Blois, then entered Baudouin's entourage and became its private priest. There is consensus among chroniclers that it is the most objective primary source.
According to Fulcherius himself, Pope II. Urbanus, in his speech at the consul; Explaining that “As a result of seven wars, the Turks invaded the Roman lands from the Mediterranean to the Straits of Saint George (Istanbul) with a burning invasion, killed many people, captured many of them, destroyed the churches, and destroyed the Kingdom of God”, and if they were allowed, they would start their conquests. He said they will continue. He started the Crusades by saying that "everyone must join this holy war in order to exterminate this evil race from Christian lands before it is too late, that those who died in this holy war will be martyred and the sins of those who remain will be forgiven". The coat of arms of the Cross was distributed to those who participated in the expedition.
Those Who Died in the War Against the Turks Who Destroyed God's Kingdom Will Be Martyred, Those Who Remain Their Sins Will Be Forgiven!
The claim that the Western world organized the Crusades to save Jerusalem does not fit the historical facts. Because Jerusalem in 638 Hz. It was conquered by Omar and until 1074, Jews and Christians worshiped freely, so there was no significant objection from the Vatican or the Eastern Roman Empire.
The targeting of Jerusalem has been a helpful and driving force for the main goal of the papacy. The Crusades are one of the dark aims of the church, which wanted to lead the belligerent knights of the West, which emerged as a result of feudalism, to fight in the East for Christianity. In order to survive the non-stop wars between the Knights and the Kings, Pope II. Urbanus targeted the Turks as "the enemies of God".
After the Andalusian Umayyad State, which was founded in 756, was destroyed in 1031, the Castilian King VI of Tuleytula (Toledo) during the time of Mülukü't-tavaif (1031-1090). Its capture by Alfonso (1040-1109) caused great joy throughout Spain and Europe. The Andalusian Muslims, on the other hand, were horrified and realized the danger of "Reconquista".
Capturing Anatolia and the Silk Road after Andalusia
Pope II. Raymond de St., Count of Toulouse, who was the first to accept Urbanus' call. Gilles (d. 1105) and Hugue de Vermandois, brother of the king of France, fought against the Muslims with the "Reconquista" movement in Spain. They saw the pope's current appeal as a continuation of the war in Spain. Success in Spain was also a great morale booster. At this time, the wave of Islam from the south was stopped with the recapture of Palermo in 1072, Saragosa in 1088, and the entire island of Sicily in 1091 from the Muslims.
These conquests in Sicily also stimulated the Western ambitions to conquer new places. Thus, Pope II. Urbanus preferred to send Crusader Armies with the opportunity to seize all Eastern Roman lands instead of the Eastern Roman Emperor's request for hired soldiers. As a matter of fact, the four Crusader counties established as a result of the first Crusade prove this.
The fact that Baudouin, who was "the youngest, the youngest son without money, without money, in need of the protection of his brothers", was first the count of Urfa and then the king of Jerusalem clearly shows the purpose of the expeditions. Pope II. Urbanus stated that it is not virtuous to save Christians from Muslims in one place (Spain and Sicily) and to allow them to suffer persecution and oppression elsewhere (Anatolia and Jerusalem). Apart from these, the Crusades had other social reasons. It was also a good political maneuver to direct the "landless peasants condemned to severe poverty", the unemployed, poor robber masses, whose numbers were increasing in Europe at that time, to Jerusalem with the promise of wealth.
The fact that the Seljuk State of Turkey completely controlled the Silk Road and the Jerusalem Road is also a very important factor. Attention should also be paid to the fact that the Crusader armies proceeded along the silk road routes. This is another issue that reveals the economic aspect of the Crusades.
As a result, the Crusades were organized to expel the Turks from Anatolia for the capture of Anatolia and Jerusalem with the pretext of saving Jerusalem. Pope II. It is a military movement for economic and political purposes, started by Urbanus, which has survived to the present day in terms of mentality and effects.
From the First Crusade to the Present Occupation of Iraq
Its aim is ostensibly to "save Jerusalem", and its main aim is to be Pope Pope II. In Urbanus' own words, it is "to extirpate the Turks from Anatolia". For this purpose, eight great Crusades, the unclassified Crusade of 1101, and the Children's Crusade in 1212 were organized.
We know that during the Ottoman period, more than a hundred projects were prepared to expel the Turks from Europe and Anatolia, and the battles of Niğbolu in 1396 and Varna in 1444.
Findings
As a result of the First World War, just like in the First Crusade, our capital was occupied, İzmir and its surroundings were occupied by Greece, and the area between Hatay and Urfa was occupied by France.
Commemorative meetings and seminars have been organized for two years since 1995 for the 900th Anniversary of the Crusades in the Western world. In 2001, we witnessed the US president saying "This is a Crusade" for the invasion of Iraq.
62,000 between Hatay and Diyarbakır to start this expedition of the USA.
On March 1, 2003, the Turkish Grand National Assembly did not allow the soldiers to settle down with 155 warplanes and sixty-five combat helicopters.
On March 15, 2019, we saw that a fanatical Christian entered mosques with automatic weapons in Australia, killing fifty-one Muslims, one Turkish, and wounding as many. This fanatic named Brendon Tarrant, after the incident Pope II. He issued a proclamation inspired by Urbanus' Council of Clermont. In the very recent days, when we wanted to search for oil in Cyprus waters, we saw that France and Germany backed Greece and raised the whole European Union against us.
For this reason, we need to research the Crusades very well and analyze their causes and results very well. Since the unity in Anatolia could not be achieved in the First Crusade, the capital and half of Anatolia and Hatay-Urfa were occupied by the Crusaders. In the Crusades of 1101 and the Second and Third Crusades, the Crusader armies that came in Anatolia by providing unity were almost completely destroyed. It seems that the formation of a new European army is on the agenda these days, and as a country, we need to be very careful against such developments.
